The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1887-02-23
firing, and with a rifle walker killed two

firing, and with rifle walker killed two
more of them before night set in.
The superstitious nature of the Indian
would have driven him away had he not
burned for revenge. And, too, it was
argued that the wagon must contain
something of great value to have been
built that way, and greed was added to
the thirst for vengeance. They be-
lieved that the bottom of the box, at
least, was of wood, and about three
hours after dark number of warriors,
each having bunch of dry grass under
his arm, crept forward to the vehicle to
start fire under it. They crept as
noiselessly as serpents, but before a man
of them had passed under a double-bar-
relied shotgun belched forth its con-
tents, and two more bucks set out for
the happy hunting grounds. Next day.
refusing to believe that a wagon could
be bullet proof, the Indians opened a
fusilade, which was maintained for two
hours. They were behind trees and logs
and other cover, and not shot was pro-
voked in response. Various schemes
were concocted to get at the wagon
which was finally believed to contain a
party of hunters, but none promised
success. At noon, however, a number
Of young warriors volunteered to carry
out plan. There were twelve of them,
and they were to approach the wagon in
a wide circle. The idea was to seize and
upset it, and thus render the occupants
harmless. The circle was made, and it
gradually narrowed until the signal for
a rush was made.
The man wthin-grim, silent watch
n or ba DIV n1n nd ha
riors seize the wheels before he opened
fire. 1t would have taken a dozen stout
men to have lifted two of the wheels off
the ground. He shot down three of
them and the others fed in terror, and
half an hour later the siege was aban-
doned and the Indians were moving of.
For two long weeks the wagonremained
on the spot an object of curiosity to
scouts and hunters-an object of awe
and menace to the savages. Then, one
morning, just at daylight, Grim Walker
came into Fort Mcpherson for his mules.
He was going to move his iron cage to
new fields. He replenished his provi-
sions, and inside of two hours was of
again, having spoken less than fifty
words during his stay. 1t seemed as il
he had grown taller, fercer more grim
and revengeful. There was something
pitiful in knowing that he alone had
survived the massacre; something ap-
palling in the knowledge that he had
become a Nemesis whom nothing but
blood wonld satisfy.
The wagon was moved north to the
head-waters Of the Saline Fork. One
who has been over the route will wonder
how it could have been done. 1t was at
tackled there one forenoon about 10
o'clock by a band of thirty warriors who
had been raiding on the Solomon's
River. The mules were staked out, and
Grim Walker sat at his camp fire. The
warriors charged up on horseback, be-
lievIng they had hunters or surveyors
outfit, and while they stampeded and Sc
cured the mules, four of them were
killed from the loopholes of the cage.
They came back again, and another was
killed and two were wounded. Then
they discovered what sort of an enemy
they had to deal with and withdrew
Grim Walker and his wagon re-
mained there for a month. When
the Indians would no longer
come tc him he set out in search of them,
and he became a veritable terror.
Twenty different warriors whom inter
viewed between 1864 and 1867 told me
that Walker was more feared than hun
dred Indian fighters. He killed every
thing he came to that was Indian, in
cluding squaws, ponies, children, and
dogs. No camp felt safe from him. He
had the ferocity of a hungry tiger and
the cunning of a serpent. He used his
iron wagon as headquarters and made
raids for fifty miles around. During the
summer our scouts saw Walker or his
wagon once fortnight He was last
seen alive on September 2, on the Repub-
lican River, when he had fresh Indian
scalp at his belt He had then blown
up his wagon with gunpowder and
abandoned it, although he did not state
the fact. His hair and beard had be
come long and unkempt, his clothing
was in rags. and there could be no doubt
that he had gone mad. On the 18th of
the month, as | rode with an escort of
soldiers south of where he was seen on
the I'd, and fifty miles from the spot we
found him dead He lay on bare
knoll, on the broad of his back, with his
arms folded over his breast and his ride
by his side. His eyes were wide open, as
if looking at the buzzards sailing above
him, and we soon satisfied ourselves that
he had died from natural causes He
had dozen scars and wounds, but dis
ease had overpowered him, or his work
had been done. He had exacted a full
measure of vengeance. Better for the
Indians had they let his immigrant party
pass on in peace, for he had brought
mourning to a hundred lodges. s.-NsO
York SuH.
The Brazilians.